The purpose of this investigation was to describe the properties of averaged auditory evoked potential distortion products (AEP-DPs) in guinea pigs. This study provided a step toward developing a clinical index of nonlinear processing of auditory signals and supplied a baseline for studies evaluating the effect of cochlear damage on AEP-DPs.

The amplitude of the AEP-DPs was evaluated as a function of f2/fl ratio (1.12–1.52) and primary frequency (500 Hz–2000 Hz). The amplitude of the AEP cubic difference tone (AEP-CDT) increased with increasing f2/fl ratio for the 500-Hz f1 primary and remained constant for the 800-Hz and 1700-Hz f1 primaries. The AEP-CDT generated by the 1100-Hz and 1400 Hz f1 primaries was maximum for the middle f2/fl ratios (1.22, 1.32, and 1.42). The AEP-CDT could not be distinguished from the noise floor for the 2000-Hz f1 primary. The AEP difference tone (AEP-DT) was larger and more frequently identified than the AEP-CDT. The amplitude of the AEP-DT decreased with an increase in f2/f1 ratio. The decrease was more pronounced for low-frequency f1 primaries than for high-frequency f1 primaries.

Acknowledgments

This paper is based on Mark Chertoff’s doctoral dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The authors thank Robert Lutfi, Terry Wiley, and Michael Chial for their guidance and criticism. This work was supported by grant #R01 NS16436 from the NIH.

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